The first and last words spoken in IMMACULATE are the Hail Mary. That prayer takes on very different meanings in each context, and in between them we have a film that is uneven, but oddly fascinating. Taken on one level, it is a screed against the patriarchy, with a woman reduced to her womb. On… Read More »
FERRARI
FERRARI is an exceptional immersive experience. Not just for the way it virtually puts you in the driver’s seat during the racing sequences, but also, and moreso, for the way it puts you in the mind of its title character as he negotiates a major turning point in his life. Michael Mann’s opus about the… Read More »
PRISCILLA
Rumor has it that the late Lisa Marie Presley was so incensed by the characterization of her father in Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA that she vowed to actively denounce the film. This despite the cooperation of her mother, who is also the film’s subject, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Further, Elvis Presley Enterprises did not sign off on… Read More »
A HAUNTING IN VENICE
A HAUNTING IN VENICE finds master detective Hercule Poirot (director Kenneth Branagh) in a somber mood. Two world wars and first-hand knowledge of the evil that men (and women) do have prompted him to become a virtual recluse in Venice, where swarms of eager would-be clients are forcefully rebuffed by the formidable bodyguard (Vincenzo Di… Read More »
MADE IN ITALY
A story well told is always worth our attention, and thus it is with MADE IN ITALY, a heart-warming tale of coming to terms with the past in order to face a future without the burden of unresolved grief and lingering complacency. Set for the most part in the spectacular Tuscan countryside, its pacing and… Read More »
TERMINATOR SALVATION
For all the explosions, gunfire, firestorms, and manly gnashing of teeth, TERMINTATOR SALVATION has an overriding weariness to it. The franchise, while robust box-office wise, has essentially been telling the same story now for a quarter of a century. A tale of time-travel, murderous cyborgs, and a father born decades after his son’s conception is… Read More »